Thank you SO much for all the lovely reviews to my last two chapters and for the birthday wishes. I had a lovely day and a magical trip down to Torquay. Thanks guys! I'm off again for another two days now, so I'm trying to really quickly post this before I go. Sorry if there's any typos! I haven't had the time to give it the fifteen double checks I normally do. Hope you enjoy!
Norma and Alex spent the next few weeks discovering everything about each other. They learnt that no - the coffee table would not take their weight, and that despite Alex's occasional salacious invitations, Norma was still pretending she didn't want to have sex in the squad car. They spent most of their time together, calling each other frequently when they had to be apart, and every night, she smiled when she heard his sprinting steps up the stairs to her house, or saw his Sheriff's SUV swing almost dangerously fast into the motel parking lot. They told each other their secrets, and he was finally allowed to worship every curve and plane of her body and she finally learned to let him. Norma couldn't remember the last time she had felt this dependent on someone, and the feeling would usually terrify her, if she hadn't been entirely sure that Alex felt the same way. He seemed to devote most of his time to making her happy, and it made her want to do the same.
There were still arguments, of course. Every couple of days or so, something would irritate Norma just so and she would blow up. Alex soon realised this was nothing new, and nothing to do with him usually, and he quickly learned how to deal with it in a variety of ways, some more effective than others.
"And then he just cut me off! Can you believe it?!" Norma said indignantly over dinner one day, her fork-ful of food forgotten as she gestured wildly with it.
"Would you like me to arrest him for you?" Alex had said, smiling at her, mostly joking, immediately knowing it was the wrong thing to say.
She narrowed her eyes at him, clattering her fork down on her plate.
"I'm glad this is so funny to you! I nearly died! I could have been run off the road, and you'd have to come and identify me in the morgue, and then how would you feel?" Norma had always had a flair for the dramatics, but her words struck him and he swallowed a lump in his throat as the image of her in the morgue flashed through his mind.
Her gaze softened a little as she watched sadness flitter behind his eyes. She finally ate the mouthful of food on her fork, grimacing when she realised it had gone cold during her rant over a road rage incident.
"Did you get his license number-?" Alex started, sighing when she immediately reached into her cardigan pocket to pull out a scrap of paper.
"I thought you'd never ask!" She said incredulously, as if shocked that he hadn't asked her for it half an hour ago.
"I'll look into it." He finally conceded, glancing down at the hastily jotted number, rewarded with a suddenly happy smile from his ever-changing wife.
Sometimes, Norma's moods were simple, and sometimes they weren't.
Days later, Alex had tried to do something nice, and it had led to one of their biggest arguments yet.
"Ta-da!" He said, removing his hands from her eyes with a flourish. She glanced around her basement, her smile faltering, then dropping completely.
"What did you do?" She muttered quietly, taking a shaky step forward.
"I cleaned out the basement!" He announced happily, not picking up on her mood at all. He stood with his hands on his hips, surveying his handiwork with approval.
It had taken several weeks of waking up in the middle of the night to silently move furniture around, or waiting for her to be busy with the motel to sneak out loadfuls of junk. But he had finally done it. And it was beautiful. The windows were cleaned, allowing a surprising amount of light into the large space, that seemed even larger now all the crap was gone. He'd dismantled the rickety old shelves that had held up peculiar implements and bags of feathers and fur, and set up a shiny new table in the corner, with her sewing machine neatly in the centre. Next to it was a small, old fashioned radio, that was actually a state of the art stereo, which was cleverly disguised as vintage to fit in with Norma's old-timey aesthetic.
"What did you do?" She repeated, a little louder this time, staring around the basement in dismay.
He didn't answer this time, starting to pick up on her displeasure, and deciding saying nothing was best until he figured her out.
"What gives you the right?-" She whirled round, her piercing blue eyes narrowed dangerously at him. "Where is Norman's stuff?!" She yelled at him.
"It's... it's still here. Well, the instruments that weren't rusted or... bloody." He grimaced as he said the last word, not wanting to mention the state he had found some of the utensils in. It was clear that Norman had been in the middle of several projects when he had gone to Pineview, and that ancient old freezer just hadn't been able to keep up with the demands of preserving his projects in his absence.
He gestured lamely to a large wooden crate in the opposite corner, watching as she flew over to it, throwing it open and sighing in relief when she saw Norman's things there.
"I thought we could set him up a new workspace when he gets back. Until then, I thought I'd just put them out of the way."
She cut him off, whirling round to face him again, her eyes wide with fury.
"Oh, did you? Well, how very convenient! Let's just erase every trace of my son in this house to make more room for you!" She started stomping up the stairs, and he followed her at a surprising speed, catching up with her after only a few steps. His hand wrapped around her arm, pulling her back, holding her in place when she tried to wriggle out of his grasp.
"More room for me?" He repeated back to her incredulously, his voice low and dangerous. "How have I made more room for me, Norma?" He asked, lifting his eyebrows expectantly, his fingers digging in almost painfully to her upper arms. She just stared at him defiantly, breathing hard.
"I don't have much use for a sewing room." He stated, and she would have laughed if the whole situation hadn't been so intense. He pushed her back against the wall, his hands never loosening their punishing grip on the tops of her arms, and she was immediately annoyed at herself for darting her eyes to his lips over and over again.
"I was trying to do something nice. Something for you." He was speaking so quietly, so calmly, that she couldn't help but feel some of the tension leave her body. Glancing back down the stairs, taking in the bright room, and the cute little sewing set up he'd created, she felt herself relent, and she felt the pressure on her arms ease up a little.
"I'm not trying to erase Norman. You know that." He said, almost in a whisper, as his eyes started unconsciously drifting to her lips, his face leaning an inch closer as he spoke.
The mention of Norman's name had the opposite effect than he wanted, and she tensed up again, as if preparing to flee. In truth, she knew what he was saying was completely true, but she wasn't ready to admit it. She wasn't ready to admit that there was someone in her life who would just do nice things for her, with no ulterior motive and no agenda, other than making her happy. So she had to ruin it. She had to project her own insecurities about Norman being away onto him. Because, the truth was, she'd been happier since he'd been gone. And that wasn't something she was ready to face. So she lashed out.
"You're a liar!" She spat the words out suddenly, her voice harsh to cover the tears that were threatening to fall. He recoiled as if she had slapped him, his mouth dropping open. He looked so genuinely shocked and hurt that she could think that of him that she immediately got angrier. She wasn't even angry at him anymore - She realised she was wrong now, but she was furious with herself, for the way she felt about this beautiful little space being hers now instead of Norman's, and so she took it out on Alex.
"Let go of me." She muttered, casting her gaze down to avoid his hurt eyes. He froze for a moment.
"LET GO OF ME!" She screamed suddenly, and she knew he would do it immediately, because he understood her and knew not to touch her when she said to. He dropped his hands in defeat, and she turned and fled up the stairs, hating that he had complied the way that she thought he would. It just confirmed to her that, no matter how angry he was, her feelings came first and she felt sick at what a horrible person she must be.
However, she was barely at the top of the stairs, barely through the doorway when a hand flew out to stop her, pulling her back, and pushing her back against the wall. She gasped, though the act had actually been quite gentle, staring uncertainly into his eyes.
"Stop it." He said calmly, ducking his head to meet her eyes. "Stop whatever it is that you're doing right now."
Her eyes shone, and she licked her lips, furious when a single tear escaped, and rolled down her cheek.
"I just..." She started, her voice breaking. "I just miss him so much!" She sobbed a little and he went to wrap his arms around her, looking confused when she stopped his hands in mid air, pushing then away from her. "But... I also... Don't." She admitted, her bottom lip trembling. Alex nodded slightly.
"And I'm so ashamed. I'm so ashamed that my baby is in that... that place, and I'm here, and I'm happy, and you make me so happy, and all I can think about is that I don't want him to come home because I don't want to share my new sewing room with a bunch of dead animals!" She rambled tearfully, her voice growing shriller as she spoke.
"You're not a bad person for wanting your own life." He assured her quietly, trying to comfort her again, frowning as she pushed his hands away again. She covered her face with her hands, shaking her head.
"Yes, yes I am. What kind of mother feels like this?" She asked, more to herself than to him. He didn't try to reach for her this time, he simply leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss against her forehead.
"You're a good mother, Norma." He assured her, murmuring the words against her forehead. She shook her head again, closing her eyes tightly.
"Nothing you can say is going to make me feel better." She said quietly, sniffling to herself.
"Ok." He whispered, and her eyes fluttered open as he suddenly dropped to his knees in front of her, pressing a kiss against her abdomen through her dress.
"Alex..." She started wearily. She didn't deserve this. She had been horrible to him for no reason. And after he'd done such a nice thing for her aswell.
"Shhhh." He whispered playfully, glancing up at her through his long dark eyelashes, his hands skimming up the backs of her calves.
"Alex..." She murmured, shuffling awkwardly as his hands slid up the backs of her thighs, pulling her skirt up enough to duck his head under and disappear completely.
"Alex. I don't want-"
"Shut up, Norma!" He mumbled, muffled under her skirt. She squirmed, feeling some of the tension leave her body.
"I just don't think-" She started half-heartedly, letting out a little yelp when he bit gently at her thigh, his hand suddenly yanking her panties down roughly.
"I said shut up." He murmured against her thigh, already lapped at the bitemark he had left, his fingers gently rubbing against her.
She shuddered, her knees shaking a little, embarrassed slightly by her reaction, since he'd barely touched her.
"Do you want me to stop?" She heard him mutter, as he licked the inside of her thigh, the heel of his hand pressing hard against her core. She ignored him, letting her head drift back against the wall, shivering as he kissed his way higher.
"Norma?" He mumbled against her flesh. She sighed as she felt his hot breath against her, letting him slide her underwear the rest of the way down her legs. She still didn't answer him, not trusting herself to speak, but stepped out of them when they reached her feet, which she assumed would be enough of a reply for him. It wasn't.
He jumped to his feet suddenly, appearing from under her skirt and pressing her back against the wall in one smooth move that made her gasp.
"Norma!" He barked, drawing her gaze to his eyes, dark with desire. He pressed the flats of his fingertips against her clit, keeping the pressure intense, watching as her eyes fluttered shut of their own accord. "Do you..." He dropped his voice to a whisper, grinding the words out in time with the movements of his fingers, punctuating each word with a soft kiss against her jaw. "want me... to stop?" She pulled in a shaky breath.
"No." She breathed out, and he swept her up into his arms the second she spoke, just as her knees went weak. She kissed him furiously, as he carried her the few feet into the living room, wrenching his lips away to look where he was going, depositing her down roughly on the couch, immediately dropping to his knees in front of her. She leaned forward to kiss him, smiling happily against his mouth, as his hands slid her skirt up her thighs again.
"Thank you for my sewing room." She finally said breathlessly, as he laughed, jerking his head away, snapping her legs apart abruptly, his head ducking back under her skirt.
"You're welcome." He laughed against the inside of her knee, before he licked a little trail up her inner thigh, making her drop back against the couch cushions, sucking in a sharp breath.
Her thighs shuffled even wider, opening up to him as he finally reached his target, his hands hoisting her knees up to rest on his shoulders, his tongue darting out to flick against her teasingly.
"Ahhh." She moaned, her head dropping back, her hands grabbing at his hair recklessly, before there was a small sound from the foyer, making them both freeze. For a split second, there was silence, and then a voice rang out through the house, the sound of a handle being turned seeming absurdly loud, making them both gasp.
"Norma? You home?" Dylan's voice rang out, and Alex emerged, red faced from under her skirt, staring at each other in horror, just as they heard the second door begin to open. Without thinking, she raised a foot to his chest, kicking with all her strength, flinching as he hit the floor with a heavy thud. She just about had time to spread her skirt back over her legs before Dylan was rounding the corner, strolling in through the doorway.
"Hi honey!" She said much too brightly, as Dylan froze, a confused frown on his face as he took in Norma sitting so casually on the sofa, while Alex lay sprawled in an haphazard heap on the floor.
"Erm, hey?" There was a pause, where Alex raised himself up on his knees from behind the coffee table, his expression overly casual as he flashed Dylan a small smile. "What, erm... What are you guys doing?"
"Oh, I dropped an earring. Alex was just helping me find it." She lied easily, as Alex cast an appraising glance around the living room floor, shrugging helplessly at Dylan.
"You're not wearing earrings..." Dylan said, a knowing smile tugging at his lips.
Her hands flew to her ear lobes, as if shocked at his words.
"Oh my- I must had dropped them both." She said incredulously, shooting him a sheepish expression. "How clumsy of me."
Alex scrambled to his feet, embarrassed to have to keep pretending to look for earrings that they all knew weren't there. Dylan pressed his lips together, trying to suppress his awkward smile. He was mortified to know what he had clearly walked in on, but Norma and Alex were suffering more than he was, and it was a rare opportunity he got to see the Sheriff squirm.
"Ok, well-" He shook himself, making a point of changing the subject awkwardly. "Just came by to tell you Emma is out of hospital."
Norma sprung up, sweeping across the room to pull Dylan in for a rare hug.
"Oh honey! That's fantastic news!"
"I think we might move to Portland at some point..." He started casually, not noticing the way Norma's face fell at his words. "But she just wants to be home for now."
Norma nodded gratefully.
"Of course. Do you need anything?" She made a small move towards the kitchen. "Do you want me to make you a casserole?"
Dylan shook his head, smiling at the floor, before glancing up and catching Alex's eye over her shoulder. They shared a brief eye roll.
"No, no. I just wanted to keep you updated."
She smiled at him, reaching up to brush an errant piece of hair away from his forehead, pleased when he didn't flinch away.
"Ok, well. That's all I came to tell you. I'm gonna get back to Emma." He let Norma walk him to the door, smiling up at him happily, pleased at his news.
He glanced over her shoulder, at something on the floor behind her and cast his gaze to the ceiling for a moment, his cheeks colouring, pressing his lips together in an awkward smile. Norma and Alex didn't dare follow his gaze, pretending not to notice, fixing warm smiles on their faces.
"Ok, well I'll let you get back to whatever you were doing." He nodded formally at Alex, who nodded back, his face sheepish, before Norma pulled Dylan in for a hug.
"Let us know if you need anything. Give Emma our love. Let me know when she's up to it and we'll have a nice dinner here..."
"Sure thing, Norma."
Once he was gone, she leaned her forehead against the door for a long moment, her eyes closed.
"My underwear's on the floor isn't it?" She breathed out, without opening her eyes.
"Yep." He said immediately, stifling a laugh.
"Great."
